Making room for the future

We are working with our partners to develop new concepts for vehicle interiors. Our goal is to ensure that every party ordering local trains has access to a range of innovative ideas in vehicle design.

Planning, testing, support

The IdeasTrain project sees us take travellers' needs and translate them into hands-on solutions, thereby acquiring a level of expertise that we would now like to share with you.

The project's history

The IdeasTrain project for rail transport innovation arose from a joint undertaking between DB Regio, Südostbayernbahn and Deutsche Bahn's d.lab. Support is provided by Munich-based design agency Neomind.

Generating ideas

We developed concepts for product ideas on the basis of a comprehensive analysis stage that involved customer surveys and researching technology.

Personas concept

Five personas embodied the most important character traits of our target groups and helped us stay focused on passengers' needs during design development.

Design development

There were initially some 200 individual ideas for each IdeasTrain model. We distilled these into well-rounded design concepts, brought them to life by integrating detailed design elements, colours and materials, and then created photorealistic visuals in our CAD tools.

Customer tests

The design process entailed inviting people to take part in frequent trials when developing ideas, testing prototypes and after the initial 3D design stage. We even produced a white model for the IdeasTrainCity so we could perform a "stress test" that simulated train travel during rush hour.

A network of business partners

Companies from a wide range of sectors joined forces with us to make the interior designs a reality. Over 50 will continue to enrich the project with their proposals and prototypes.

Models

We wanted the IdeasTrain to be something you can see and feel, so we built 1:1 walk-in models. The IdeasTrainRegio used a total of 22 models to showcase its different themed areas, and we added a further 2 models following feedback from customers. The IdeasTrainCity consists of a total of 12 innovative models.

Launch

After just some 13 months of development, we were ready to unveil the 1:1 models for the IdeasTrainRegio and IdeasTrainCity.

Ongoing development

The IdeasTrain is an active innovations platform that is open all suggestions. Working together, we are addressing our customers' ever-changing needs.